Snapchat 老板夫妇，帮 26 万人还清医疗债

主角是 Snapchat 的老板，叫斯皮格尔。

The main figure is the boss of Snapchat, named Spiegel.

你可能没听过他的名字，但你八成用过他的产品。

You may not have heard his name, but you've most likely used his product.

就是那个拍照、聊天的手机应用，Snapchat。

It's that photo-and-chat phone app, Snapchat.

靠着这个应用，他成了亿万富翁，身家差不多二十一亿美元。

Thanks to this app, he became a billionaire, worth about 2.1 billion dollars.

他的太太，是澳大利亚的名模，米兰达·可儿。

His wife is the Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr.

这次上新闻，不是因为他们又赚了多少钱。

This time they're in the news not because they made even more money.

而是因为他们捐了一大笔钱，帮别人还债。

But because they donated a large sum to help others clear their debt.

这就要先说说美国一个很头疼的问题了：医疗债务。

For that, we first need to talk about a real headache in America: medical debt.

在美国看病，是真的贵，贵到出了名。

Seeing a doctor in America is genuinely expensive — famously so.

如果没有保险，进一次医院，账单可能就是一个天文数字。

Without insurance, one hospital visit can come with an astronomical bill.

就算有保险，很多项目也得自己掏一大笔。

Even with insurance, you still pay a big chunk yourself for many things.

一场大病下来，欠个几万、几十万美元，很常见。

After a serious illness, owing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars is common.

很多普通家庭，就是因为一次生病，一下子背上了还不清的债。

Many ordinary families, from just one illness, suddenly carry debt they can never clear.

医疗债务最麻烦的地方在于，它是一种躲不掉的债。

The worst thing about medical debt is that it's a debt you can't avoid.

你可以不买房、不买车，但你没办法不生病。

You can skip buying a house or a car, but you can't choose not to get sick.

数据挺吓人的：差不多每四个美国成年人里，就有一个人身上有医疗债务。

The data is scary: roughly one in four American adults carries medical debt.

它也是美国人破产的一个主要原因。

It's also a leading cause of bankruptcy in America.

很多人辛辛苦苦一辈子，最后是被一张医院的账单打倒的。

Many people work hard their whole lives, only to be brought down by one hospital bill.

那斯皮格尔和米兰达，是怎么帮忙的呢？

So how did Spiegel and Miranda help?

他们没有直接给每个人发钱，那样效率太低了。

They didn't just hand cash to each person — that's too inefficient.

他们找了一个专门做这件事的组织。

They turned to an organization that specializes in this.

这个组织的玩法很聪明。

The way this organization works is clever.

医院手里有一堆收不回来的债，放着也是放着。

Hospitals hold piles of debt they can't collect, just sitting there.

所以它们愿意用很低的价格，把这些债打包卖掉。

So they're willing to sell that debt in bulk at a very low price.

这个组织就把债买过来，然后一笔勾销，直接免除。

The organization buys the debt, then wipes it clean — cancels it outright.

这个组织其实已经干了十几年了，在美国五十个州都做过。

This organization has actually been at it for over a decade, across all fifty states.

到今天，它累计免除的债务，已经超过了四百亿美元。

To date, the debt it has cancelled totals over 40 billion dollars.

最关键的是那个比例：你每捐十美元，就能免掉一千美元的债。

The key is the ratio: every ten dollars donated cancels a thousand dollars of debt.

也就是说，一块钱能顶一百块用，杠杆非常大。

In other words, one dollar does the work of a hundred — huge leverage.

所以哪怕对亿万富翁来说，这也是一笔特别划算的善款。

So even for a billionaire, it's an especially cost-effective donation.

就靠这个办法，斯皮格尔两口子这一次，一共免除了五亿五千万美元的债务。

With this method, the Spiegel couple this time cancelled 550 million dollars of debt in all.

受益的，是加州差不多二十六万个家庭。

The beneficiaries are roughly 260,000 families in California.

其中圣地亚哥拿到的最多，光那一个地方，就有四万多人被免了债。

San Diego got the most; in that one place alone, over 40,000 people had debt cleared.

这些人自己可能都还不知道。

These people themselves may not even know yet.

除了圣地亚哥，洛杉矶这些地方，也有不少人被免了债。

Besides San Diego, places like Los Angeles also had many people's debt cleared.

再过几天，他们会收到一封信。

In a few days, they'll receive a letter.

信上写着：你的医疗债务，已经被还清了，不用再还了。

It reads: your medical debt has been paid off; you don't have to repay it.

你可以想象一下那个画面。

Picture the scene.

一个普通的加州家庭，某天打开信箱。

An ordinary California family opens the mailbox one day.

他们本来以为，又是催着还钱的账单。

They assume it's yet another bill demanding payment.

结果拆开一看，居然是一封通知：你那几万块的医疗债，没了。

But they open it to find a notice: your tens of thousands in medical debt — gone.

那一下子松了一口气的感觉，是钱买不来的。

That instant sense of relief is something money can't buy.

米兰达还特意出来说了一句话，挺贴心的。

Miranda even stepped forward to say something thoughtful.

她说，我们之所以想亲口告诉大家，是因为怕你们不敢相信。

She said: the reason we want to tell everyone in person is we're afraid you won't believe it.

毕竟天上掉馅饼的事，谁听了都会先怀疑一下。

After all, when good things fall from the sky, anyone would be suspicious at first.

如果你收到这样一封信，请放心，这是真的，不是骗人的。

If you get a letter like this, rest assured — it's real, not a scam.

当然，这件事在网上也有不同的声音。

Of course, there are also different voices online.

有人特别感动，说这是实实在在的善事，帮到了真正需要的人。

Some are deeply moved, calling it a real act of kindness that reached people who truly needed it.

但也有人吐槽，说这不过是有钱人之间的游戏。

But others scoff that it's just a game among the rich.

他们的意思是，能被买到债的，很多是中产家庭，不一定是最惨的那批人。

Their point: those whose debt gets bought are often middle-class, not necessarily the worst off.

还有人问，这么多钱，是不是应该直接给最穷的人？

Some also ask: shouldn't this much money go straight to the poorest?

这些说法，其实都有各自的道理。

These views each have their own merit.

不过话说回来，能实实在在帮到二十六万个家庭，总归不是坏事。

Still, genuinely helping 260,000 families is, in the end, not a bad thing.

其实，做这件事的有钱人，还不止他们一个。

In fact, they aren't the only rich people doing this.

之前那位很有名的女富豪，麦肯齐，也捐过一大笔钱做同样的事。

The well-known wealthy woman MacKenzie earlier donated a large sum for the same cause.

可以说，在美国的富人圈里，帮人免除医疗债务，正在慢慢变成一种风气。

You could say that among America's wealthy, cancelling medical debt is slowly becoming a trend.

不过我们也得清醒一点。

But we should stay clear-headed too.

免除债务，是帮大家擦掉了过去的伤口。

Cancelling debt wipes away old wounds.

但美国看病贵这个病根，并没有因为这一笔捐款就好了。

But the root problem — costly healthcare — isn't cured by one donation.

今天免了这一批，明天可能又有新的一批人，欠上新的债。

Clear one batch today, and tomorrow a new batch takes on new debt.

真正要解决问题，靠的不是几个好心的富翁，而是整个制度的改变。

Truly solving it relies not on a few kind billionaires, but on changing the whole system.

但话又说回来，在制度慢慢变好之前，能有人先伸手拉一把，已经很不容易了。

Then again, before the system improves, having someone lend a hand first is already no small thing.

不管大家怎么看，有一点是实实在在的。

Whatever people think, one thing is real.

对那二十六万个家庭来说，压在心口的一块大石头，被搬走了。

For those 260,000 families, a heavy stone on their chest has been lifted.

他们晚上，大概能睡个好觉了。

At night, they can probably sleep soundly now.

至少今年的夏天，会比往年好过一点。

At least this summer will be a little easier than years past.

好，今天的分享就到这里，我们下次再聊。

Okay, that's all for today's share; let's chat again next time.